Supreme Court Sends DAPA Program Back to Lower Court

Jun 16

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On June 23, 2016, a divided Supreme Court sent President Obama’s DAPA program, which would provide deferred action status for parents of United States citizens who meet certain eligibility criteria (a USCIS flyer on the program distributed before the program was delayed in court can be found at by clicking here), back to the lower court to proceed with litigation over the question of whether the President has the power through executive action to implement such a program. The Court’s ruling simply stated: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court.” The fact that the Supreme Court was divided 4-4 on the case means that no precedent is set and the Court did not give any reasoning for the positions of the justices. The case will proceed in the lower court; however, it is unlikely that any final decisions on whether the program can proceed will occur during the remaining term of the Obama presidency.